Disney pulls plug on $1 billion Florida office park in blow to Gov. Ron DeSantis
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Disney scrapped a plan to build a $1 billion office project in Orlando amid a still-expanding feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who accuses the company of backing so-called “woke” progressive views.
The media giant has decided some 2,000 jobs that it planned to move to the Sunshine State will remain in California , just weeks after CEO Bob Iger said it would reconsider future investments in Florida.
“This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one,” a Disney executive wrote in a letter to employees who would have been affected by the move.
The letter framed the decision mostly as a business one for the theme park operator, but it comes as Disney battles in court with DeSantis over his efforts to punish it for supposedly gay-friendly policies.
Disney said it still “hopes” to invest $17 billion in Florida over the next 10 years, including the addition of around 13,000 jobs. The company currently employs more than 75,000 people in the state.
DeSantis, who plans to announce his presidential bid next week, attacked Disney last year after the company issued a statement mildly criticizing his “Don’t Say Gay” law that restricts discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools.
He moved to seize control of the quasi-municipality that Disney had effectively run in central Florida for decades and has threatened a blizzard of costly inspections for the Mickey Mouse company’s famed rides and monorails.
Disney fired back with a federal lawsuit accusing DeSantis and Florida of improperly singling it out for punishment based on politics.
The ugly feud has earned DeSantis ridicule from fellow Republicans, some of whom have noted that the GOP is supposed to be a pro-business party.
Former President Trump, who also lives in Florida, lambasted DeSantis and predicted Disney would respond by moving jobs and money out of the state. He boasted in a brief statement that Disney’s move proves he is “always right.”
